


Not the best, but not the worst

by Green_Tea_Baby



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Happy Ending, Hugs, Parent Rio (Good Girls), Siblings, Soft Rio (Good Girls), Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:15:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28960065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green_Tea_Baby/pseuds/Green_Tea_Baby
Summary: A possible collection of oneshots about being Rio's kid depending how it turns out. The first chapter is of your reaction to Rio getting arrested. These are just going to be soft FamilyFics, nothing more nothing less. Don't get all creepy about it. If you like it feel free to write a oneshot idea down in the comments.
Kudos: 5





	Not the best, but not the worst

You stood there, just standing in front of Midwest middle school, looking like someone who had just killed a man. Typically being picked up from school was just a normal part of everyday life. You were a kid so it was better you got picked up from school than having to walk home. Or even worse, having to make a random friend on the bus just to have someone to sit next to and not look like a total loser. Some kids out there would be ecstatic that their parents would pick them up from school, so you should be more grateful right?  
Well if your dad was a gang leader, you would be a little less excited to get picked up by them. Dad was never mean to you, he didn’t really act like a gang leader around you either, but no matter where he was that part of him always followed. That included when picking you up from school. So many playdates had been ruined by that side of dad. If you were hanging out at the park with your friend Sally or Sara or whatever her name was and you went to ask your dad for ice cream money, there would be a fifty percent chance a bald guy covered head to toe in tattoos would interrupt the conversation. It was always something. You occasionally tried to read lips after your dad had sent you back to play. You got used to reading the word “money” or “body” off lips.  
Your dad could be pretty scary at times too. Friends hated going over to your house, so even when you were allowed to have friends over they didn’t want to come. Maybe it was the neck tattoo. Or maybe it was the way your dad talked, even when asking someone if they wanted lemonade he sounded like he was asking someone if they wanted to seal a money laundering deal.   
“ Your dad, I don’t know he just kinda freaks me out. I don’t feel safe in your house, sorry”, that sentence rang through your head every time a new friend asked to come over for a study session or just a general hangout.  
A black Honda pulled up amongst the crowd of other carpools and parents picking up their kids. Rio had to semi-constantly switch cars for obvious reasons so you often couldn’t tell which car was his right off the bat. You would just have to see your dad, or part of him at least.  
All of your friends had already gone home. Either they went on the bus or their parents didn’t have people to beat up before picking up their kids. You walked to the car with your head hung low. It felt like every pair of eyes was on you. It always felt like this when you got into a shady car and looked like you were being kidnapped. Cause surely, such a well behaved middle school would be the offspring of a criminal.  
“ Hey kid, how was school. “ your dad said the second you opened the car door and slid in. You shucked your bookbag off your shoulder and just let it sit on the floorboard. You didn’t even glance at Rio.  
“Fine” a simple answer for a simple question.  
“What did ya learn today”  
“Same as I always do, math, science, old people and wars and stuff”  
You could tell your dad was looking at you occasionally, you just kept your eyes to the scenery. If your dad had anything, it was street smarts. He could read anyone at any time no matter the situation. Whenever you would watch shows together he could predict what a character would do or say and was most often right. He would know something was wrong, you just hoped he wouldn’t say anything about it.  
The rest of the car ride played out in silence. You didn’t have the guts to reach for the radio and try and find a station you would both like. You never got rio’s iroh nerve. You broke down when your teacher confronted you about a pencil you forgot to return. Dad never had to discipline you because you wouldn’t be able to handle it if he yelled at you, or if he even got mad at you.   
As the car slowed to stop, you instantly grabbed your bag and opened the car door again. You made an instant bee-line inside the house. Your mind is dead set on your safe haven, with your blanket and your candles. This room was otherwise known as your bedroom.  
“Hold it. Come’n have a chat with your old man huh?” your dad said from behind you. There it was. It was scary how quick and silent that man was. You complied obviously, what else were you going to do? Nobody ignored Rio. Dad took a seat at one of the bar stools and you sat at the one across from him.  
“So you gonna tell me what this is about? Or are just not gonna act like you actin’ all weird” your dad said with an unwavering tone. Who could tell if you were his child or another one of his hook-ups for who knows what. You couldn’t keep quiet anymore, not with your dad staring at you like that and your pent up emotions just eating at you.   
“You can hide this stuff from Marcus, but I know that the emergency babysitter didn’t have to come by because you got ‘caught up at work’.” you came out with it quickly and bluntly, like ripping off a band-aid.   
Your little brother Marco loved the babysitter Rio always had for emergencies. She was fun and always played whatever he wanted. You were older though, you didn’t have the luxury of being young and foolish. You had to face the harsh reality. The reality that your dad got locked away.   
“When Marcus went to bed I turned on the news and sure enough, there you were. My dad getting arrested on television. “  
The room fell silent after that. Rio was now looking at the island. You tried but you couldn’t tell what he was thinking exactly. He was probably thinking about what to say, how to explain what you had seen. It wasn’t easy trying to explain to your thirteen year old that you did some very illegal things that could occasionally get him arrested. It’s also not easy to explain to your thirteen year old that dad may just not come back home one day, and never come back any day after that.  
“ It’s not like I didn’t think it couldn’t happen. You’re good about keeping it from Marcus but you weren’t so great at it when you first had me. So I always knew it was a possibility, but it’s just so much different seeing it actually happen. Seeing dad being hauled away.” you finished off your thought. You were trying your hardest to be strong, like so many people had wanted you to be. To be like your dad. Just the thought of seeing your dad pulled away from dinner or being taken away from one of the only times he takes you out for family time almost brought you to tears. Just remove the ‘almost’ part.  
“Hey hey now come on, no water works”. Rio said as he got up to move closer to you. As violent as your dad could be, he was a pretty good hugger. Besides Marco you were sure you were the only one your dad hugged so they were bound to be special. They were warm, safe, and most importantly of all they were loving. Rio didn’t care about much other than money. He wouldn’t care if he saw someone struggling desperately for money even though he had plenty. He wouldn’t bat an eye when blowing someone’s brains out, but if there was anything out there that he actually cared about it was his kids.  
“ Listen, daddy does some things, things that could get him in trouble. So you gotta stay strong and hold down the fort for me, alright?” your dad said quietly. You couldn’t do much besides cry into him. It hurt having the thought of dad just not being there anymore. It didn’t seem real, it didn’t seem normal.  
Time seemed to freeze almost as you and your dad just sat there hugging each other. Eventually you had stopped crying but you didn’t want to let go, so neither of you did. You just wanted everything to go back to how it was before Rio got arrested. Last week you could pretend that your dad was just any normal dude who just had some shady looking friends.  
“So...you’ve gone back to calling yourself daddy?” you mumbled into his now damp shirt. That got a good laugh out of dad. Finally you two pulled away to look at each other.  
“You think you’ll be okay now?”  
“No not really, but what is there to do. I have faith in you I guess, you’re dad so you’ll always come back.”  
“You’re damn right” your dad snickered as he patted your shoulder and then left the kitchen to do who knows what.   
Marcus had baseball practice until six and it was only four so you could be alone with your feelings for a while. Marcus was a very clingy kid, he didn’t like being alone. You had to keep everything in so Marcus didn’t find out. Finding out your dad was a gang leader could seriously mess a kid up. So you had to act like everything was okay around him so he couldn’t even suspect something was wrong. You were the same when you were little. You wanted to cling to your dad’s leg constantly. You would cry whenever he had to leave you, saying he had something adult to do. You would cry so he would stay with you just a little bit longer.   
“Hey, what’s for dinner?” you shouted to Rio.  
“Don’t know, how bout I let you choose tonight” he shouted back. You smirked.  
“Then I choose that Chinese place, y’know the one you-”  
“The one I hate”  
“Yup” your dad came back into the kitchen and leaned on the wall with a goofy smile. You stuck your tongue out at him and smiled back.  
“You must really have it in for me huh kid?”  
“Take it as my revenge for worrying me so much.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions and any an all kudos are appreciated.


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